The Guardians of Osiris
by iMurasaki
Summary: Note: This is a chapter out of a longer story I'm writing, I chose this fragment to upload as it contains more of a fleshed out story and introduces most of the main cast. "A young Awoken Warlock searching for her lost brother receives information on where to find the legendary Guardian, Osiris. Traveling to Mercury, she gets more than she bargained for."
1. Chapter 2

**Chapter II: **

**The Guardians of Osiris**

The craft descended through the thin Mercurian atmosphere and slowed, gliding through the skies with relative ease. The cockpit maintained a steady temperature, despite the intense heat outside. From this height, gigantic spirals and crevices could be seen across the scorched surface, alongside the occasional impact crater. Mia's Ghost fluttered anxiously beside her head, speaking in his normal anxious tone. "We're approaching the Fields of Glass now. I'll remain hidden as you've asked, but please be careful. We don't know who or what we're dealing with out here." The craft slowed, and Mia was thrust down via transmat onto the hot sands of Mercury. Stumbling slightly, she came to a stop and observed the surroundings as the craft turned and made it's way back into orbit. Behind her, the gigantic sun filled the horizon and burned furiously. In front, large scorched sand dunes obscured her view. It was time to start moving.

Climbing the large dunes proved to be harder than it seemed. The loose sand gave way periodically as she slipped a few times, managing to find her footing on scorched, solid areas of the sand. She eventually reached the top, her eye-catching faint objects in the distance to her left. Five or six, she wasn't sure. The heat waves made it difficult to determine if they were people at all. But they had seemingly stopped moving and were looking her way. Uneasy, she turned back and continued on, noticing a small building in the distance as she stumbled down the steep trail. Along the way, she observed pillars and arches of stone, intertwined with some sort of machinery. No doubt about it, The Vex had been here once. What was this place? She had heard the tales, the tournaments, and Trials that were held here. And the exile, Osiris, whom she had come to seek. The Old Hunter at the hangar's bar had been very kind in confirming the legends. Brother Vance at the reef, however, hadn't been much help - she didn't want to be tested in combat or listen to fanatical ramblings. She just wanted her brother back. She pressed on, passing large obscure stone structures and pressing on against the occasional gust of wind, finally reaching a small opening ahead. She peered inside cautiously. The entrance led into a long, darkened corridor with steps and a large rotating wheel to the left, dividing the room from a large stone structure in the main hall.

She hesitantly stepped inside. It was surprisingly cold, the steps in front of her leading into a darkened opening at the rear. It was quiet, aside from the very faint sound of grinding from the stone wheel. Before she could take another step, a silhouette with pointed ears emerged atop the stairs. At first glance, it almost seemed like an animal. What could it possibly be doing here? The darkness made it difficult to determine. A voice suddenly echoed around the chamber. "What do you seek, Warlock?" The voice was male- smooth, almost calming. "I... I've come to s-speak to Osiris." She was stammering again. She tried her best to keep calm and resist her nerves, but it wasn't working. "Osiris? What is the meaning of this? Do you have your Passage, Warlock?" The sound of multiple metallic clicks resonated throughout the area - weapons readying. "I.. no, I'm not here to fight. Please, where is Osiris?" A few more shadows danced along the wall, two beaked shadows approaching. "You DARE to enter The Burning Shrine without Passage!" this deep, gravelly voice was of a female; aggressive, almost offended. Stammering, Mia slowly started to step back. "P-Please... I'm not here to fight you! I..." footsteps sounded off towards the back, slowly drawing closer. The man with the pointed ears stepped out into the brilliant sunlight shining from the entryway.

He stood tall, his long black coat floating gently in the breeze. On his left arm was a sun-themed bond, glowing bright. The helmet was in the shape of a Jackal's head. There was no mistake, this armor was themed after the Ancient Egyptians. These were the Guardians the Old Hunter had spoken of - The Guardians of Osiris. "You foolish child. He isn't here." Mia clenched her fists. "B-but you're the Guardians of Osiris! You're 'guarding' him!?" She could feel the embarrassment rising and flashing across her face, her eyes blurring as she realized she may have taken the information given to her too literally. Another Guardian stepped out from the shadows, a large beak protruding from the front of his Eagle helmet. His armor was exquisite- golden, with intricate intersections carved across his thigh and forearm plates. A large, wing engraved pectoral adorning his upper torso. His hip held a sash which reached around to the small of his back, golden and flowing proudly. On his biceps, beautiful pauldrons with a black eye emblazoned in the center. He held a large black assault rifle with the same yellow eye proudly displayed in the middle. She knew the symbol, and she knew the danger that was imminent. "I just wanted to find my brother but... I-I'll be leaving now, thank you... " another Guardian suddenly blocked her retreat, dressed the same as the Golden Eagle, only silver, and with a Beetle shaped cloth hanging loose from her right hip. "I don't think so. Your unauthorized entry into this sacred proving ground is a violation we simply cannot allow. Your journey ends here, Warlock."

Without warning, the Golden Eagle opened fire. Mia shrieked in fear as a torrent of lightning-fast bullets tore at her arm, the rest destroying the wall behind her. It would heal. Don't panic. Just run. She turned and ran towards the large wheel, barely making it through the slender opening with bullets ferociously ricocheting behind her. A deafening crack preceded the searing pain in her right shoulder. A sniper rifle! The Silver Eagle chambered another round, huffing in disappointment. "Don't let her escape!" the voices trailed off behind her as she continued to run through the main hall to the opposite side. Another exit to her left, and a set of stairs to her right. She gambled and ran for the exit, but the atmosphere outside had changed. The sand storm blew furiously and forced her back inside. There was no escaping the Guardians of Osiris. She felt the dread rising in the pit of her stomach, desperately rubbing at her eyes, clearing the sand from the storm. How could she beat them? Making her way up the set of stairs, she heard a small burst and saw the shadow of the Black Jackal approaching rapidly, an Axion Bolt floating before him. She was too slow, and the bolt exploded into her, sending her sprawling into a small opening. Three blasts from a hand cannon adorned with the same yellow eye. It was clear these were devoted warriors to Osiris, the armor and weapons granted through the fabled Trials. Surely they were better than this though, more accurate - were they playing with her? With time running out, she scrambled up and moved to the edge, some kind of walkway below separated the two sides - she would have to jump. Taking a step back, she jumped forward and was met with a solid mass midair - the Silver Eagle had quickly thrust from the opposite side. Entangled, they crashed to the floor below and quickly scrambled to their feet. Before she could react, she felt the fist strike her across the face. Stumbling and shaking off the electrical discharge, Mia saw the Silver Eagle attempt a second punch, but she was quicker. Ducking, she spun around and brought her right foot into the gut of the Silver Eagle, before thrusting her left palm forth with all her might. It paid off, and the Silver Eagle fell back into the main hall, dropping her weapon - she had to take the chance. Jumping high, she managed to reach the other side and ran down a small set of stairs, before catching a glimpse of the Golden Eagle heading away from her. She felt her knees buckle and backed into a corner, crouching and remaining silent. Perhaps she could hide in the shadows for a while.

Lost in her thoughts and with her heartbeat deafening her, she failed to notice the hand slowly raised behind her and with that, it was too late. The hand clasped tightly over her mouth and pulled her back deeper into the shadows of the corner. "Don't scream.." the familiar voice pleaded. She turned around as the grip loosened - a Titan with patterned armor, elaborate branches and the Wolfwood Tree symbol in the center of his chest plate, and a Warlock to match. "Zylon! Orion!" she silently sobbed, fighting back the tears and whispering quickly. "The Guardians of Osiris are here! They-" Orion nodded. "We know." She wiped her eyes gently, trembling. "How did you find me?" before they could answer, rapid sets of footsteps approached from the back of the corridor. "They're moving as a pack, get behind me!" Zylon pulled Mia to his inside and fired three bursts from his Nirwen's Mercy at the wall as the Golden Eagle emerged into the open. Orion seized the opportunity and fired a few bursts from his Bad JuJu. The shots connected, hitting the Golden Eagle in the chest. It was enough to deter the warriors as they scrambled back behind cover.

The Golden Eagle joined them in retreating, ejecting the spent magazine and inserting a fresh one into his assault rifle, catching his breath. He had noticed the wolf crest on the coat and the knights helmet almost instantly. "So, you're Guardians of the Iron Banner? Iron Lords? What brings you to our sacred grounds?" Zylon held onto Mia, keeping her close to his inside and blocking her from any sudden attacks. "Our alliance isn't why we've come. We've fought here before, Guardian. Yes, with Brother Vance's blessing. Many of us have. We have had highs and lows, honors and regrets. We've even danced inside The Lighthouse." he offered up the name of the final destination out of the Trials, The Lighthouse, in the hopes it might buy them some respect. He continued. "Today, we've come for the girl." Orion gripped his Bad JuJu tightly - Zylon had seen the body language before. He was expecting an ambush. Footsteps from across the hall confirmed his suspicions, the Silver Eagle leaning out slightly to get a read on their position. The Black Jackal spoke up. "I appreciate your honesty and your past participation, Iron Lords. However, she has violated the terms of Osiris. She comes here not only without Passage but speaks to us with disrespect. Her brazen and naive attitude insults all Guardians who fight here. Leave us. This isn't a matter which concerns you." Orion winced. "She IS our concern, she is one of us. You speak of disrespect, but dare you to violate your own terms, the very beliefs which you berate this young Warlock for? This isn't an official Trial. We will take her and with her, our leave." There was a long silence. Mia swallowed hard, trying desperately to calm herself. "We cannot allow it." The metallic clicks resonated once again, it seemed like the unofficial Trial was now on. It would be even, at least. Three versus three.

"That's enough!" Everyone froze in their respective positions, surprised at another party arriving without detection. Zylon peered around the corner spotting a woman, the sunlight around her almost making her glow. How had she made it through the sandstorm? She was powerful, with a bright yellow mark hanging from her right hip. "Sunbreakers. What brings you to our sacred-" without hesitation, she cut off the Golden Eagle. "Enough. I've heard the speech before." Two more Sunbreakers took her left and right flank, kneeling with guns poised. "We were patrolling the dunes and saw the girl stumbling down the dunes. Then we heard your little firefight. What do you think you are doing?" The Silver Eagle stepped forward. "She has violated-" the woman raised her hand. "Not you.." she continued up the stairs and stood in the opening, looking down at Mia. "Her." the Sunbreakers looked on as Orion brought Mia into the open, alongside Zylon. The situation had seemingly become a lot worse. "I... I've come here to seek Osiris. My brother has vanished and he might know where he is." She looked down, embarrassed. The left flanking Sun breaker lowered his weapon, standing slowly. "Well, you're either brave or incredibly stupid to come here, Guardian. It is true that this is a sacred proving ground." he nodded towards the Osiris warriors. "The Guardians here take their oath very seriously, and any such activities outside of their values can and will be taken as disrespect. Such is the tradition. The Trials of Osiris began here. Outside in the dunes, we protect the area. We have an agreement with the Guardians here."

He took in a deep breath and let out a long, defeated sigh. It was clear he was aware of how this could end for her. "How did you find this place?" Zylon stepped forward. "We received some information from a Hunter in the Last City. He seemed to know a lot about how things work here on Mercury. About you. Beta he said his name was. He told us Osiris might be able to help us. We lost her brother shortly after the Hive invaded the Earth." the Sun breaker nodded his head slowly. The female lead spoke up. "So he's alive..." she looked down momentarily, perhaps Beta was an old friend? "I'm sorry but Osiris isn't here. However... there will be no firefight, no punishment and NO Trials of the unofficial kind." She observed the warriors offensive demeanor. Her tone became intensely serious as she stepped forward, pushing her chest out to form a powerful stance. "Do you understand me? We'll take it from here." With compliance, albeit restraint, the Eagle warriors stood down, the Black Jackal signaling them to come back to him. The three disappeared into the darkness at the back of the corridor. The female Sun breaker had noticed Mia's silent tears, frowning in sympathy. "You seem very emotionally charged for a Guardian of the Traveler, young Warlock." Orion offered a defense. "She's not from Earth. She ran a trading operation with her brother. The simple life. She's not directly involved with our efforts, however, she isn't as mindless and selfish as the majority of Earth's Guardians." Mia shifted uncomfortably, wiping the tears away before speaking up.

"Excuse me... what is your name?" the woman stood silently for a few seconds, before relaxing her demeanor. "My name is Ouros. I am the Magistrate of the Sunbreaker Titan's here. Before Osiris was exiled, he brokered a deal with us. It was met with... resistance, to say the least. Mercury is now our home, we prefer to patrol the wilderness of the planets we defend and take the fight directly to the Darkness. However, I'm afraid that what I said stands true. The man you seek isn't here, and he hasn't been seen for quite some time now. I'm sorry." Mia nodded, sadly. She wasn't about to argue with Ourus. After all, she could have quite easily annihilated the three of them. Instead, she granted kindness and information. "My name is Mia. Thank you. Thank you for helping us." The right flanking Sun breaker nodded. "You're welcome. Mercy isn't given here so easily. Unless you have a Boon from the blind man of course." The Sun breakers all started laughing heartily in unison. Mia looked around confused, noticing Zylon and Orion also chuckling to themselves and nodding to one another. An inside joke? She didn't understand, but the mood was relaxed. She'd take it. "How can we ever repay you?"

Ouros put a hand to her hip, contemplating. She raised her hand slightly and pointed her finger a few times. "Commander Zavala. We could use access to the tower, it would be easier to prepare our missions and equipment there. Of course, our mark hasn't been displayed on Earth for a very long time. We cannot go ourselves." Zylon stepped forward gingerly, he knew Zavala was in search of Ouros and the Sun breakers. "My name is Zylon, this is Orion and the young Warlock here is Mia. I'm also in exile, but I know Zavala has concerns about a coming threat which we are directly responsible for. I guess it's about time I worked things out with the Vanguard. And I'll drop in a word for the Sunbreakers while I'm at it. Sound good?" he extended his hand to Ouros, and she met it with a firm grip. "Sounds good to me, Titan. You have yourself a deal." the Sun breakers then turned and made their way towards the exit, Ouros and the left flanker stepping out into the calming sandstorm. The right flanking Sun breaker stopped and turned around slowly. "Find him, okay? Do whatever it takes." he gave a small salute with two fingers and turned to disappear through the exit. And as quickly as it had begun, it was all over.

Orion suddenly felt like he was being watched. More Guardians of Osiris? From the darkness of the corridor, two bright, fuchsia eyes. She was here. "Sunya? What are you doing here? How...?" Orion stepped forward to greet her. She emerged from the darkness, staring at Mia intensely, silently. Her coat suddenly moved, and underneath by her side, Little Layla appeared from her stealth cloaking. She wore a scaled down red cloak, one of Leila's old ones no less. A large, yellow skull on the back. She smiled ever so slightly and held both hands out, then made a quiet whooshing sound. The sound she used to mimic Orion's Blink Jump in the past. Had they teleported here somehow? She stepped back under the safety of the coat and cuddled Sunya's leg tightly.

A few seconds passed, and Mia started smiling. The nerves of the encounter had gone, she felt at peace. "I'm not angry with you, Sunya. I'm not. I promise." she stepped forward quickly and took Sunya's hand into her own, gently stroking the cold metal. "I know I gave you a hard time before, but I just miss my brother so much. I know you're not replacing him. In fact, I don't know why you stay with us. With me. After how I've spoken to you and treated you." she looked down. "But I know you love Little Layla very much, I just feel it. Like a sister. You understand how I feel, don't you?" Sunya remained rigid, and suddenly, she brought her hand on top of Mia's, gently clasping it between hers. Was she copying the actions? Sunya suddenly broke her silence with a raspy, mechanical voice. "Yes. Like a 'sis-ter'. And 'Mo-mma'. 'Mo-mma' is sick." Zylon stumbled slightly, as Orion spoke suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow. "So you can talk after all.."

Little Layla giggled and ran out from under the sanctuary of Sunya's coat, sitting on the edge of the nearby steps, kicking her legs freely. "She doesn't talk to you, Orion? She talks to me all night!" she patted her chest and pointed to her head. Had Sunya been somehow communicating with her telepathically in the past? "She's from a big place called um... India... She-" her excitement faded as she suddenly went quiet, smiling and burrowing down into her chest. "Sorry..." she sheepishly remarked. Mia caught Sunya's gaze from across the room. That calming, understanding look. Perhaps she had told her to stop. Orion continued. "'Momma'..? You see Leila as your mother?" He wasn't about to start picking apart her words. "How can we help her, Sunya?" Sunya tilted her head to the right, then the left. Straightening up, she continued. "Mo-mma is sick. The Wiz-ards. Poi... Poi-son-ous." her speech pattern was bizarre, slightly pausing between words. Almost like a child trying to impress an adult with large words. But these were small words. Perhaps she had been taught how to speak recently. Little Layla perhaps. Mia spoke up. "What is this poison?" Sunya lowered her hand to her sides rigidly as before, not moving a muscle. "Ir Yut."

Zylon clenched his fists. "Ir Yut did this? But we destroyed her when we fought our way through Crota's twisted dimension. She's gone." had the Hive somehow poisoned her? Perhaps her exposure to the wizards had been dormant. Maybe killing Ir Yut had triggered off some sort of infection. Orion knew more about this sort of thing, naturally, but he just stood silently shaking his head. Zylon had heard enough. "There's one person who would know what this is. We have to leave for the tower." Orion grabbed onto his arm, stopping him. "Zylon... perhaps I should go instead." Normally, he would persuade Zylon, but he was set to the task. "I need to go to the tower at some point Orion. I can't keep running. Eris will know how to help Leila, and I need to speak to Zavala about Ouros and the other Sunbreakers. The time is now, we'll all go." Orion nodded, releasing his arm. "Fine. But we'll have to meet Tigerman and Tina on the way." Mia started to blush, looking down slightly. "I... I need to see Tigerman too." she didn't notice the looks from the group until it was too late. Now it was awkward. "Hey, look at that. She's gone as red as a Vex eye." Zylon said, grinning.


	2. Chapter 3

Lord Garrick fiddled with the console, thumping it a few times. "For Golden Age equipment this certainly isn't-" Kai nudged him gently from behind and leaned in for a better look. "Knock it off. It could be interference. Sunya... I know you won't talk but try your spectral frequencies. We can't see a thing over here." Suddenly, the screen changed. Sunya's vision had changed to a heatmap, to one with more intense coloring, and back again. "Okay, Thermal to Atmospheric checks out. Keep going Sunya." Garrick typed away and turned the knobs a few more times, the reception was clearing. The screen changed to a bright yellow with a low buzzing sound emitting from the console, changing to a vibrant fluorescent image and then to a deep purple with a higher frequency emission. Small flake like objects could be seen floating across the screen with red blotches. Garrick leaned back slightly. "Yeowch." he felt a harder thump to his lower back. "Okay, Okay... Ultra-Violet checks out too. There's a lot of interference there Sunya, could be the volcanic ash. Keep going."

Suddenly, the vision darkened to a deep grey and the outline of a fallen Hive Knight became visible, the remnants of the armor glowing a bright green. "'Hive Vision'? You've gotta be kidding me." Garrick leaned in for a better look. "Where did she come from? Who made her? I need to-" he caught Kai's ever menacing gaze. "Right. It seems she's able to see the worms residue or whatever it is they ingest. That's super handy." Kai analyzed the screen. "Okay Sunya, your spectral modes are working fine. What other tricks do you have?" a weapon came into view on the screen - a SIVA enhanced weapon. It was dull and hard to see in the darkness, the small red triangles covered in ash. The screen suddenly inverted, projecting a bright silver background with the gun glowing a bright red. "And she can see SIVA. Seriously, what have we done without her?" Kai grinned to herself, impressed. It wasn't easy to do that.

"Stumpy, come in, over." she waited a few seconds before the radio struggled to life, accompanied by a lot of static. "Kai? Is... you? We're at... volc... lots... over." she huffed, angrily. "This inteference is driving me crazy. Say again Stumpy, say again, over." the static cleared momentarily, in the background a huge explosion followed by rumbling shook the room. Kai's Ghost fluttered anxiously, hiding behind her shoulder and peeking at the screen. "We're at the volcano, there's a lot of activity here. We can't see a thing and we've had some Hive and SIVA resistance but we took care of it. These volcanoes are always erupting, but this bad boy is in overdrive, I think it's gonna blow soon. Get us out of here, pretty please? Over." Garrick chimed in, brushing away loose debris that had fallen from the ceiling. "Hey uh, Hunter master race and all. Try a different spectral mode on your helmet. Sunya could see a bit better with Ultra-Violet. Do you think you can do us proud and make your way to Sunya? She should be by the cave you traveled through, over." Kai paced. If the volcano was about to explode what was causing it? Venus was always billowing as Stumpy had said, but this was almost accelerated. "Roger that. What's the Goth doing here? Also, my helmet is a little jacked up, night vision is the only other mode operational. Over. Wait. Not Over. Over. Okay, I'm kidding, not Over. But this is the last time I promise. How do I-" The radio went into static.

Kai frowned, annoyed at Stumpy wasting time. Garrick gently leaned in from the chair. "The long black Victorian coat thing. Gothic I think it used to be called a few centuries ago. I don't think she's aware." Kai leaned in and took the microphone in her hand. "Well I think she is aware, and she has a great fashion sense, thank you very much. Stumpy, stop kidding around for the love of the Traveller we don't have time. Where is Tigeman? Over." the room shook violently, it was getting worse. "Tigerman is-" the radio went completely dead. "Great. So they're stranded there with who knows what causing this volcanic activity. We need to get them out of there but I doubt a ship would be able to reach them." The radio crackled back to life, it was Stumpy. "Uhhh, guys? I found Sunya, but she's just vanished into thin air. Think you could hurry up and figure out how to get me back? Guys? GUYS?!"

Back on Earth, Orion mused to himself, leaning against the fence outside the cabin. Sunya was once human? He gazed off into the mountains surrounding the area, beautiful with lush forests throughout. The setting sun illuminated the area in the most beautiful way he had ever seen. She was like nothing they had ever enountered before. Mechanical in appearence, but even the Light is different. Not an Exo. Not a Vex. Leila had first found her at The Reef. A Techeun, she had said, from beyond Earth. The so called 'Witches of the Reef', under the rule of the Awoken Queen, Mara Sov. Little Layla had told her it was okay, she wasn't going to hurt them. Sunya had told her to run and had helped fight off the traitorous Queen's Guard and get them back to Earth. But why? What was the connection with the girl? His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps crunching along the rocky trail.

Zylon groaned lightly, sitting down beside him. "What's on your mind?" Orion stared ahead quietly. Zylon followed his gaze, to see Sunya walk from the opposite trail, standing in her usual rigid pose at the end of the cliffside. "How did she know where we were, Zylon? How did she get to Mercury? Why does she protect them so fiercely?" Zylon smiled slightly and reached down, taking a small twig in his fingers and poking around at the dirt beneath them. "I stopped trying to figure it out a while ago. Leila seemed happy to have two daughters and sad I was questioning that." he paused, looking out to a distant lake that was glowing brightly from the sun. Orion nodded. "But she's a machine. It's almost as if she IS her daughter. The emotion is so powerful, from both of them." Zylon nodded. "Leila said when she first saw her explode into lightning that her heart almost stopped. You know how terrified she is of Hive Wizards, being the only survivor of her original Fireteam and all. Something about Sunya... I don't know, it's like she's taken that fear away. I don't think it's forced, though. Not like mind control or whatever, more a gift. Leila loves her."

Orion looked to him, recognizing that serious expression. Zylon continued. "See I tried to find out more from Little Layla. But she didn't reveal anything else aside from what she said on Mercury. Sunya was a human once, from India. Do you see that purple mark on her arm? The bird?" Orion looked to her mark. He knew it changed color with the time of day, but not much else besides. "Sure, isn't that one of the expensive ones The Speaker has back at the tower?" Zylon nodded. "Yeah. We have no idea what she is, but maybe he does if she's made a purchase. The Speaker has access to records of people in the past, and people who come and go from the Tower. Maybe we can get a hit, he must know something." Sunya suddenly knelt, brushing the dirt away as her coat settled around her thighs. "It's almost as if she's admiring the sunset too." Zylon started playing with his hands, wringing them and stretching his fingers, wincing in pain slightly. Worse for wear these days, the old bones. Maybe too many punches. "Well, whatever this place resembles it means everything to her. She's always here."

Orion suddenly reached into his coat, removing a small photograph. A beautiful woman with dark skin and long, flowing black hair smiled towards the camera heartily. She had a single silver nose ring and intense brown eyes. "I found this in Leila's cabin. Do you think it's her?" Zylon leaned in, admiring the picture. "Wow, an actual photograph? Pretty rare these days. What are the odds Leila has a picture of a beautiful Indian woman on the off chance?" Orion smiled, rolling his eyes slightly. "Smooth as always. On the back it says Shakti. Loosely translated from Hindu I believe and Buddhist culture, Sunya, or Sunyata, and Shakti means Null/Void. Clearly not a real name, but rather an alias. Or a codename." The valley was now filled with the beauty of a tertiary dance, a welcome respite from the drab surroundings they normally found themselves in.

Suddenly, a metallic clinking sound had them both turn around rapidly. A scruffy man stood before them, wearing a long coat, studded pauldrons adorning his shoulders with scars over his cheeks. He grinned, stifling a laugh and flicking a large jade coin into the air. "Hey, brothers, what's up? A beautiful day isn't it?" He broke into a confident strut, passing them and stopping at the edge of the ravine, leaning in, grinning wider as he took a few deep breaths of the fresh air. "Don't get to see or feel it too much, y'know what I'm sayin'? Always dark and stuffy up in orbit." He turned, flicking the coin into the air and spinning, catching it on the descent. "Ha ha ha! You're worried about 'Little Blue' aren't ya? Ahh, you two." Orion had heard enough, scrambling to his feet. How did he know of Leila and her nickname at that? "The Drifter, if I'm not mistaken." He sounded almost annoyed. "You got it, brother! My reputation proceeds me I see!" Orion frowned. "It certainly does..." he side-eyed Zylon, still sitting on the floor silently. He knew how to provoke him into action. "...Dredgen." Zylon discarded the twig and scrambled to his feet rapidly upon hearing the name. "What the hell!" The Drifter, still grinning, put his hands out by his sides. "Woahhh, you got me all wrong! I used to run with Dredgens... it's just ol' Drifter now! Swear it..." He offered an overly large toothy grin, raising his eyebrows. "I'm here to offer some help, I've had my eye on you two for a while now... Hydra's and Ogre's and Taken, oh my! Ha ha ha! Yea'... "

He slinked closer, putting an arm around Orion, leaning down slightly. "You two and your friends, well I haven't seen action like that for a while. You've even got that creepy 'Reef Goth' with you, right? Old silence is golden herself. Hey, I got a little proposition' for ya, if you're interested..." His overacting and excited tone was agitating them, but the two were almost entranced by him, unable to do much but just listen. It made Orion feel nervous, powerless to react, and before he could respond, the Drifter held out a jade coin. It had the Vex head symbol on it. He chuckled, leaning in and turning it rapidly between his fingers in front of them. Cabal. Fallen. SUROS. The Jade Rabbit. He flicked it once more, holding it up. This time, it had Zylon's face engraved on it. "You're special Orion, trust. I need good brothers in these troublesome times." He flipped the coin again, revealing Little Layla's face. Orion stared down at the coin, perplexed. What trickery was this? A hustler if anything, surely. Furrowing his brow, Zylon offered a response. "We don't help Dredgens or anyone else affiliated with the Darkness. But you already know that, don't you? So what's the catch?" The Drifter chuckled again, smiling. Sunya remained rigid at the edge of the cliff, seemingly ignoring the three talking.

He pointed to where Zylon had been scraping the dirt. "Looks like you already know as well! Not bad! Little... puffy around the cheeks if you ask me, though..." Zylon looked to the dirt, stunned. He had just been digging and scraping mindlessly here and there, but there it was. Leila's face in the dirt, perfectly carved in the earth. What was going on? The Drifters laughing broke the silence once again. "Listen, now you're best pals again with Zavala, swing by my place some time... down in The Annex, you heard me? I got a little ol' spot in that warehouse. We'll talk there. Leila needs you two. They call her 'Dredgen Terra' now. I can help." He turned and started down the trail, moving towards the bridge, but stopped dead in his tracks as Sunya walked in front of him, her glowing fuschia eyes meeting his own. "Well, aren't you just the... creepiest... thing." He winked, smiling and moving to her left, but she matched him. His demeanor seemed almost nervous now. She held out her hand, staring into his eyes. "Uh... what is this, the troll OVER the bridge? Haha. Okay... okay." He placed the coin of Little Layla into her hand. She snapped her head down, looking to the engraving. It was her face this time. "Universe is a strange place, sister! Trust." He took advantage of her distraction, walking around her and holding his hand in the air. "You got skills, boys. Real good artwork too!" as the Drifter disappeared out of sight, Orion looked to the dirt. Random scrapings and small dugouts here and there, no face or anything of sense. He met Zylon's confused gaze with one of his own. The Drifters charismatic laughter echoed along the trail before falling silent. Sunya looked to the trail then back to the coin, which had now turned purple. The symbol of the Sov family twinkled in the twilight sun. She clenched her fist and crushed the coin into fragments, gently letting them fall onto the dirt below. 


End file.
